A friend shared this with me. This is very cute, well-done, and the message is…well…perhaps the best message we can muster up without Jesus anywhere in view. (Note: I’ve only viewed the first 4 videos…so maybe (please God) it takes a radically Christ-centered turn in the end away from tapping into our own “santa within.”) … More Messages from Santa
The following is from Jack’s Blog. This is a timely passage to meditate on during the busy holiday season. -JB SCRIPTURE: “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be … More Christmas at Martha’s Home
Have you seen this? What do you think? The middle part on Consumption is especially timely considering this season of hyper-consumption around Black Friday and the holiday shopping. What is the unique ‘Kingdom perspective’ Jesus followers ought to take on this polarizing, hotly politicized topic?
I absolutely LOVE turning our cute little “house on the hill” into a warm, cozy winter abode — our own little winter wonderland. Keri put all of my fire-making attempts to shame this past week with the best fire we’ve ever had in our home. It burned and crackled for hours without needing to tend … More I’ll Be Home For Christmas
Here are a few of my favorite memorized Bible verses. Commit these to memory, write them on index cards, tape them to your car dash, and store them away for a rainy day when the “arrows of the enemy” come flying. WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE BIBLE VERSES? Trust in the LORD with all your heart and … More Memory Verses: Words to Live By
Here’s a blast from the past. This article published in the local Mound Paper — The Laker — describes the philosophy behind the Revolution teen ministry I launched and led (2005-07). We hope MainStreet launches strong so we can re-launch a dynamic youth ministry like Revolution able to reach local teens for Christ. -JB Words … More A Look Back: Revolution 2006
“At first a man engages in some forbidden pleasure because he wants to do so; in the end he engages in it because he cannot help doing so. Once a thing becomes a habit it is not far from being a necessity. When a man has allowed some habit, some indulgence, some forbidden practice to … More QUOTABLES: The Murderous Power of Sin (Barclay)
Recently, I experienced the beauty of Christian friendship and fellowship. Some friends and I sat together in a basement and shared our joys and struggles as we strive to “grow up into Christ.” I was deeply refreshed by our time together. So, like the Apostle Paul, I couldn’t resist pulling out my modern-day papyrus and … More A Contemporary Epistle
Dear MainStreet friends, On the eve of Thanksgiving 2011, Keri and I have much to be thankful for. The past year has been perhaps the most difficult and most satisfying year of our lives. One year ago, I was unemployed and scrambling to raise seed money to start planting MainStreet. We had just found out … More A Thanksgiving Letter
From churchmarketingsucks.com: Picture this scene. You’re in your pew. The worship is amazing, almost transcendent. The song ends in a moment of awe-filled silence. It’s just you and God. And then—train wreck; you are catapulted from a state of ethereal wonder to an awkward announcement about the church cookie bake-off or a video that never … More Church Announcements
This is the transcript/notes from a sermon preached at MainStreet Covenant Church on November 13, 2011, as a rally cry to mobilize a community to join us in furthering the mission of MainStreet in Mound. This was the 3rd monthly preview service before beginning regular weekly worship in 2012. Nehemiah chapter 3 is misleading if … More NEHEMIAH 6: Chapter 4 Sermon Transcript
Bloomberg Businessweek thinks so… Hey, I didn’t turn out half bad. ;-)
Our prayers reveal our priorities. The requests we bring before God give a window into our heart’s greatest concerns at any particular moment. Sometimes they are petty and selfish: “Lord, help me find a good parking spot” or “Help me pass this test I didn’t study for.” Often they focus on more urgent immediate needs … More EPHESIANS 6: Paul’s Prayers & Priorities
The Lord is my pacesetter, I shall not rush. he makes me stop and rest for quiet intervals, He provides me with images of stillness which restore my serenity. He leads me in ways of efficiency, through calmness of mind, and his guidance is peace. Even though I have a great many things to accomplish … More Psalm 23 Remixed for a Rushed Society
Paul is my hero. Explain his lengthy portfolio of sufferings away, you who dare propagate the demonic prosperity gospel leading so many astray today! One clear promise of the Bible, straight from the lips of Jesus, is that “in this world you will have trouble. But take heart! For I have overcome the world” (John … More The Sufferings of the Apostle Paul
Hi friends, Much of our church planting adventure thus far has been casting vision — or, in other words, telling a compelling story of what God has called us to do and why its a cause worth joining and/or investing in. There’s no better way to tell a story than through video. One of my … More The MainStreet Journey on Video
I was raised Lutheran, and am sort of glad I did somedays. Lutherans get grace better than most. For no one was more bothered by their own depravity more than Martin Luther, and no one was more amazed by God’s grace — God’s Redemption Act Covering EVERYTHING — than Luther as well. I like to … More My Problem With Grace
“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves…. In him we … More EPHESIANS 5: Chosen in Christ (1:4-12)
This is a timely repost from 2011 when MainStreet was just getting launched. It was during a local election season where people were passionately campaigning for and against a school referendum. You sense my urgency and deep burden for this community. -JB “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may … More EPHESIANS 4: The Greatest Cause on Earth (1:18-23)
Today, Will Willimon, in his book “Pastor” quotes his own teacher’s words on the pastorate toward the end of his career training clergy. James E. Dittes speaks of “ministry as grief work”: To be a minister is to know the most searing grief and abandonment, daily and profoundly. To be a minister is to take … More Pastor 13 – The Cost of Vocational Ministry
